Huntsville gazette., 1887-10-01

y
us lunch then and seek further
The cafe was almost deserted, and
the two friends seated themselves at a
table which commanded view to the
dining hall, where they might note the
various people coming and going. and
note also how many of them were
minding their own affairs, how many
interesting themselves in their neigh
bors'.
Ellis, the young enthusiast, grew
quite interestedly merry over the af-
fair, although confessing the evidence
rather too one-sided to be agreeable to
him.
De Lancy, the aristocratic .bondhold.
ton upon the pools and corners of his
confreres, forgetting to make mention
OF his own; Jones, the alderman, while
conveying a generous bribe to his ever
open pocket with one hand, used his
other to gesticulate his scathing de-
nunciation of city hall corruption; the
deacon bemoaned the backsliding of
his brother; the lawyer. designated as
a pettifogging rascal the attorney who
had been 50 fortunate as to gain vic
tory over him, denomcing those
methods a shade whittier than his own
the physician hurled all pathies save
his own to perdition; the artist saw
false lights on another's canvas; a mu-
sician struck the false notes of anoth-
ers melody; mechanic pointed out
the defects of co-worker's machinery;
even Alonzo criticised the mustache of
his rival, and Flora Flimsey thought if
she were those Smith girls she would
not act as they did, Miss Prim gasped
between shocked spasms that "that
forward French girl visiting the Browns
actually looked at a man and giggled;"
and even little Dale, a charub newly
descended. lisped that she "asked God
every night to make her brother bet
ter boy"
Ellis looked at his friend with help
less expression Of discouragement
"Tell me, Neil, are you the only man
living who minds his own afairs?"
His friend laughed heartily. "Oh,
no! my boy, l scarcely deserve that
distinction. But do you not fancy
from your two hours observation that
was right in urging return to the
good old maxim? And have you no
curiosity to hear how 1 happened to
differ from the generality of mankind
in this respect, or how, in fact, /
learned to mind my own affairs, for I
did learn?'
"Of course l should like to hear
about it!'' for confess your ability to
do SO is something of mystery to me
since l discovered how rare the faculty
and how naturally people incline in
the opposite direction
"Well, then, to go back to the days
Of youth and India that Mecca and
destruction as well of 50 many young
men). / was stationed there when in
that state of mistaken verdure where a
youth inclines to the belief that he is
sort of self-appointed regulator of all
human affairs"
What. Neil! you ever the victim of
your own Importance! can not credit
the thingr'
True, nevertheless. / vainly i'm
agined myself sort of demi-god, and
as such in greater or less degree the
arbitrator of my~fellows. So it tram
spired that l, mere STRIPPING, sought
to manage another life as well as my
own, or rather instead of my own,
choosing for my easy to be nodded pu-
pill young fellow of our regiment
whom | fancied very tractable clay in
my hands. Well, to make long story
short, l appointed myself sole guard
ian and director of the boy, and while
secretly feeling sort of contempt for
the weakness that would make man
only puppet in the hands Of another, !
could not fail to feel also pride in
what seemed complete victory over
another being. Judge, then, my disap-
pointing chagrin to receive one morn
ing this letter, which / have always
kept by me to eflectually enforce an
observance of the old maxim. Yes,
as Ellis hesitated, you may read 1t. a
deadly wound to my self-importance
in the past, It's not displeasing to me
now, since proving the Young fool has
not developed into an old one, in this
respect at least. But read for your
SELF and Ellis did so.
The epistle was dated twenty years
agone, and was as follows:
To Colonel o. N1il. setf-dppointed regulator Of
all affairs sdue h.s OtoR:
SIR: On behalf x myself and humanity at
large offer with the sincere hope that ii may
be accepted) this advice-that you attend TO
your own affairs and let your good neghbors at
tend to theirs. 'ris only of our own that we can
have any real and exact knowledge and, believe
me- twas never intended that we should neg
lect them fer those We know not, which mis-
taken action involves us in most atrocious err
rors of speech and action. Surmising thing so
and so is the poorest kind OF evidence. and the
man who is ever seeking the cloven foot Of his
neighbors exhibits his own. So do not infer
am disciple OF faro and pool, or hint at the de
plorable ways OF Jeux without other evidence
than that Of your own oft unfounded surnises.
And above all now and eVermore, attend TO
uour own affairs